Coffee Bean

I like that there is usually no line, or if anything, a pretty short line (unlike Starbucks down the street).
I really liked their genmaicha tea. It comes in a little satchet and has toasted brown rice in it that expands. If you’re looking for a nice, mild tea, I’d recommend it.
Their regular coffee is pretty good too. However, I just tried their iced vanilla latte and it is just way too sweet (I threw it out before I could finish the whole thing). Next time, I will have to ask for just one pump of the syrup.
I’d definitely go back for their teas and their regular drip coffees.

I think this is the first review I’m writing on Unilocal — my experience (repeated experience) at two of the new-«ish» coffee beans here in Manhattan has just (almost) moved me to complete exasperation — so much so that I need to write it down in a hope that the management will read this and get their act together.
in case you don’t want to read me in full — bottom line is, if your name is «The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf» — and you have the word «Tea» in your name… and not only that, you add the word «Leaf» (presumably signifying you know about and can cater to people you also know about and enjoy real Tea), then your Tea shouldn’t suck. Buy they do. Here’s why:
First, I’ll mention biases. I’ve lived for many years in NY (like 15, and before that many years in California (similar timing). Also a few years in NJ which were unspeakable. Also, I grew up in a household that drinks tea much more than coffee, and drinks it with milk and sugar. In college I nearly OD’d multiple times on double espressos and nearly tripled in volume due to various formulations of .
Now I’ll get right to the problem before digressing. If you add too much water to tea, if the water is too hot or too cold, or if the tea has been sitting around too long (and exposed to air), the flavor is off. Teavana is another chain that has largely parrallel problems to those I’m mentioning, actually errs on the side of burning tea, but is spoty in that some employees can make a heavenly cup, but many can’t. In California, every single cup of tea made by the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf has been amazing. I’ve tried all the permutations. Just regular tea, for example, is handled properly — if you order a large size, they put extra tea bags in it to parallel the volume of water so that the flavor is not diluted. They also make «Tea Latte’s» which are amazing, unlike Starbucks’ woeful attempts (either by adding syrup and steamed milk with too much foam to a tea bag soaked in too much water, or by just eschewing real tea and making a weird syrupy chemical laden slurry which is supposed to be Indian Chai? Starbucks, really?). A Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Tea Latte (hot or iced) is supposed to be a beautiful, full bodied experience. They put looses leaf tea through the espresso machine so that the hot temperature and pressure of the water extracts the absolute best party of the tea leaf. Its not perfect in the gourmand sense of it, as tea can be a highly precise science, but the practical ramification is that you get a very full flavored and brisk extraction of tea. Lastly, if you don’t want the addition of the powdered milk (which is the «Latter» part of it), you can ask them to make a normal tea but still run it through the espresso machine. Again, you get a glorious full flavored tea. In California, Coffee Bean and Tea leaf’s process was so popular that even starbucks (albeit unofficially) would put their own teas thru the press if you asked.
In NY, I’ve asked for all of these permutations, only to be dismayed multiple times and savaged by horrible horrible horrible tea. I can understand that Americans are normally not natural tea drinkers and may not have good sense as to what makes a good cup of tea. So I understand when the staff tells me a tea bag costs $ 2.45 regardless of the amount of water. so its better to get a bigger glass. I understand how this mistake would happen — IF YOU HAVE NEVER DRANK ANY TEA!!! BUT IF YOU HAVE HAD TEA BEFORE YOU WOULD KNOW THAT THE MORE WATER YOU PUT INTO A SINGLE TEA BAG’S BREW, THE LESS IT TASTES LIKE TEA AND THE MORE IT TASTES LIKE HOT GATORADE.
But, since, as I’ve state before, the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf HAS THE WORD «TEA» IN ITS NAME, then shouldn’t it teach its employees how to brew a decent cup of tea or to at least have a modicum of intelligence when speaking with a tea-​drinking customer?
Second, putting aside that the staff at both the broadway locations and at the midtown east location were more concerned with «processing» customers thru in as fast as possible like cows to the slaughterhouse, I actually had to explain multiple times to anyone making the tea how to make the pressed version. If I asked for their famous English Breakfast Tea Latte, the staff knew how to make it but it was always very week — either their process is wrong or they are being allowed to use too little tea. it ends up tasting like milky water with a faint whisper of possible tea-​like odors. If I make the mistake of asking for it w/​o the milk, after explaining for 3 – 4 minutes that it is a tea put thru the espresso machine, and after wasting another few minutes for them to colliquoy internally as to what price this should be, they end up giving me hot gatoreaid. They give me too little tea for a small size with a large or sometimes extra large cup full of water. WHY IS THIS SO HARD?
This morning I had to throw away my cup and walk out — they wouldn’t understand me if I tried to explain. I give up.

So happy that The Coffee Bean is here in NYC! I missed it dearly since departing the west coast! I stood in line the first day it opened last year! You cannot compare Starbucks to coffee bean! Coffee is so good! The ice blend! And tea!!! So happy to walk 10 mins across town just for coffee, while Starbucks is right across the street.

Went here the other day when I was in the city. It is fairly new to NYC. It is very large and has plenty of seating. They have a nice selection of cold and hot beverages. Oh and FYI this place is kosher. I had a soy black tea latte and it was pretty good.